Filed under: Radio | Tags: Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Barack Obama, John McCain, Claire Hagan, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Green Tree, Barry Goldwater, Compassionate Conservativism, Health Care, Medicare, Medicaid, The Revolution: A Manifesto, Lyndon Johnson, Bureaucracy, Lobbyists, Potomac Fever, Iraq War, Gay Marriage, Third Party Candidates, Scrabble, Paul Simon
- Ron Paul Humor
The election is long over, but the 2008 presidential candidates – and their supporters — persist. Republican Congressman Ron Paul didn’t make it on the ticket in November, but his appearances in the primary debates brought him a wide crop of new supporters – including Claire Hagan, a social worker in Baltimore.
After watching him face off with the other Republican candidates last year, she found him to be the only real conservative on the stage and has been a Ron Paul convert since. No matter his ‘out-there’ reputation, Claire believes in his program for cutting government agencies, pulling out of Iraq, and abiding closely to the Constitution. She’ll even buy you a copy of his book if you show any degree of interest in him.
Produced for The Politics Show.
Filed under: Radio | Tags: Baltimore, Belfast, Blitz Chess, Caffeine, Chess, Chess Tournaments, Chris Millar, Drunkenness, Energy Drinks, Northern Ireland, Poker Face, Postal Chess, Queen’s Chess Club, Queen’s University Belfast, Sheep, Smiling, Students, Ulster Club Championship
Chess in Bar Sub
It’s all about chess on episode 36, with interviews with three members of the QUB Chess Club, Chris Millar, Steve Scannell and Ciara Pugh. Since the club was brought back to life in 2005, its players have found great success, winning the title of Irish University Champions last year and Ulster Club Champions this year. This month, several of the Queen’s players head to Greece for a Europe-wide tournament. In today’s episode, Chris, Steve and Ciara talk about their entry into the world of chess, their stress levels, their game faces, their addictions, and their strategies for victory.
Filed under: Radio | Tags: Activism, Baltimore, Crashdance, Exchanges, FBI, Flashdance, Football, Hollywood, Larry Evans, Millhunk Herald, Pittsburgh, Plastic Turf, Public Broadcasting, Reform School, Rust Belt, Security Threat, Serbia, Socialism, Spiro Agnew, Steel, Tony Novosel, Ukraine, Unions, Work, Writing
Larry with the Mill Hunk Herald
In the 1980s, Larry Evans was named a national security threat, Hollywood script writers were intent on telling his life story, he was crossing the Iron Curtain, and he was overtaking the Pittsburgh public television airwaves. As the steel mills were closing down in that decade, Larry ran the Millhunk Herald, a local journal, and was active in the efforts to keep the industry alive. He tells his story — how he got politically active, what’s happened to him since those activist days, and what it’s like to be classed a threat to society.
The video clip below comes from a documentary Larry made about his Millhunk Herald days. Tony Novosel stars in the 1983 Pittsburgh-made ‘Crashdance’, as a steelworker who turns to exotic dancing amidst the collapse of the steel industry in the city.
Filed under: Radio | Tags: Ethnic Minorities, Pittsburgh, Politics, Social Problems, The Troubles, Tourism, Orange Order, Election, Campaign, City Council, Race, Parades, Superheroes, Baltimore, John Hopkins, Northern Ireland, Rust Belt, Gentrification, Community Redevelopment, Orangefest, David Hume, Patrick Dowd, Cronyism, Lawrenceville
Orangefest
Episode 9 considers local politics: of the Orange Order in Northern Ireland and the City Council of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the first half, David Hume talks about the future of the Orange Order, including its new superhero figure and tourism initiatives. Mid-July has been rechristened as ‘Orangefest’ and the Orange Order has big plans for brining more foreigners and locals together for the parades and activities around the 12th. Hume also discusses the Order’s international links, in Canada, the US, and Africa, along with its concerns for attracting young Northern Irish men to join its ranks.
In the second half, Patrick Dowd explains how he won a seat on Pittsburgh’s City Council and his plans for the city. He went from graduate student to teacher to politician, but his victory was not an easy one. Winning a seat as a Democrat but initially without the endorsement of Pittsburgh’s Democratic Party, Dowd had to mobilize the grassroots of the community, going from door to door to door and fount out a tremendous amount about the Pittsburgh neighborhoods he now represents.
